Acidic Deposition in the Northeastern United States: Sources and Inputs, Ecosystem Effects, and Management Strategies

Driscoll, Charles T.; Lawrence, Gregory B.; Bulger, Arthur J.; Bütler, Thomas; Cronan, Christopher S.; Eagar, Christopher; Lambert, Kathleen F.; Likens, Gene E.; Stoddard, John L.; Weathers, Kathleen C.

doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0180:aditnu]2.0.co;2

Cited by 941 publications

(687 citation statements)

References 64 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

666

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…These findings indicated that both base cation depletion and stream water chemistry were related to acid deposition in this area. The accumulation of S and N in forest soils from decades of elevated atmospheric acidic deposition will delay recovery as the gradual release of these elements continues to be a drain on the exchangeable Ca pool (DRISCOLL et al 2001;KNOEPP, SWANK 1994). Long-term trends in stream water chemistry and sulfate deposition at several forested watersheds in North Carolina and Virginia support the hypothesis that soil retention of atmospherically-derived sulfate has decreased in recent years (RYAN et al 1989;JOHNSON et al 1993) supporting this mechanism for ongoing Ca depletion.…”

Section: Base Cation Depletion In North American Forestsmentioning

confidence: 82%

Status of soil acidification in North America

Fenn¹,

Huntington²,

McLaughlin³

et al. 2006

J. For. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Forest soil acidification and depletion of nutrient cations have been reported for several forested regions in North America, predominantly in the eastern United States, including the northeast and in the central Appalachians, but also in parts of southeastern Canada and the southern U.S. Continuing regional inputs of nitrogen and sulfur are of concern because of leaching of base cations, increased availability of soil Al, and the accumulation and ultimate transmission of acidity from forest soils to streams. Losses of calcium from forest soils and forested watersheds have now been documented as a sensitive early indicator and a functionally significant response to acid deposition for a wide range of forest soils in North America. For red spruce, a clear link has been established between acidic deposition, alterations in calcium and aluminum supplies and increased sensitivity to winter injury. Cation depletion appears to contribute to sugar maple decline on some soils, specifically the high mortality rates observed in northern Pennsylvania over the last decade. While responses to liming have not been systematically examined in North America, in a study in Pennsylvania, restoring basic cations through liming increased basal area growth of sugar maple and levels of calcium and magnesium in soil and foliage. In the San Bernardino Mountains in southern California near the west coast, the pH of the A horizon has declined by at least 2 pH units (to pH 4.0–4.3) over the past 30 years, with no detrimental effects on bole growth; presumably, because of the Mediterranean climate, base cation pools are still high and not limiting for plant growth.

show abstract

Section: Base Cation Depletion In North American Forestsmentioning

confidence: 82%

Status of soil acidification in North America

Fenn¹,

Huntington²,

McLaughlin³

et al. 2006

J. For. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…ANC should increase or base cations should decrease in response to decreases in surface water sulfate (Driscoll et al 2001); however, upward trends in ANC were detected in only six of the 28 MZWA lakes, and none of the lakes showed trends in base cations. A possible explanation is that the precision of the base cation and ANC analyses is not as good as for sulfate and that coupled with the low sulfate concentrations, the trend is masked by analytical uncertainty.…”

Section: Lake Water Chemistrymentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Campbell et al (2004) studied ephemeral ponds in the MZWA during snowmelt and although minimum ANCs were <40 μeq/L, net acidity (ANC<0) was not observed in any of the ponds. Decreases in surface water pH due to acidic deposition have been shown to reduce species diversity and abundance of aquatic life in acid-sensitive ecosystems (Driscoll et al 2001). Some studies conducted in the MZWA have suggested that the tiger salamander is sensitive to acidity at levels that might be found in snowmelt and rainfall in the wilderness (Harte and Hoffman 1989;Kiesecker 1996;Turk and Campbell 1997); however, the acidity of precipitation has decreased substantially since these studies were published.…”

Section: Lake Water Chemistrymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Effect of power plant emission reductions on a nearby wilderness area: a case study in northwestern Colorado

Mast

Ely²

2013

Environ Monit Assess

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study evaluates the effect of emission reductions at two coal-fired power plants in northwestern Colorado on a nearby wilderness area. Control equipment was installed at both plants during [1999][2000][2001][2002][2003][2004] to reduce SO 2 and NOx emissions. One challenge was separating the effects of local from regional emissions, which also declined during the study period. The long-term datasets examined confirm that emission reductions had a beneficial effect on air and water quality in the wilderness. Despite a 75 % reduction in SO 2 emissions, sulfate aerosols measured in the wilderness decreased by only 20 %. Because the site is relatively close to the power plants (<75 km), the slow rate of conversion of SO 2 to sulfate, particularly under conditions of low relative humidity, might account for this less than one-to-one response. On the clearest days, emissions controls appeared to improve visibility by about 1 deciview, which is a small but perceptible improvement. On the haziest days, however, there was little improvement perhaps reflecting the dominance of regional haze and other components of visibility degradation particularly organic carbon and dust. Sulfate and acidity in atmospheric deposition decreased by 50 % near the southern end of the wilderness of which 60 % was attributed to power plant controls and the remainder to reductions in regional sources. Lake water sulfate responded rapidly to trends in deposition declining at 28 lakes monitored in and near the wilderness. Although no change in the acid-base status was observed, few of the lakes appear to be at risk from chronic or episodic acidification.

show abstract

“…In the U.S.A., damage has been more subtle, but over a much broader region. Forest decline and limited mortality have been linked to acid deposition in some areas (Driscoll et al, 2001). As in the U.S.A., some areas of the Czech Republic have lithologies that are resistant to chemical weathering and have limited ability to buffer soils and waters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Biogeochemical Comparison of Two Well-Buffered Catchments with Contrasting Histories of Acid Deposition

Shanley

Krám

Hruška

et al. 2004

Water, Air, & Soil Pollution: Focus

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Much of the biogeochemical cycling research in catchments in the past 25 years has been driven by acid deposition research funding. This research has focused on vulnerable base-poor systems; catchments on alkaline lithologies have received little attention. In regions of high acid loadings, however, even well-buffered catchments are susceptible to forest decline and episodes of low alkalinity in streamwater. As part of a collaboration between the Czech and U.S. Geological Surveys, we compared biogeochemical patterns in two well-studied, well-buffered catchments: Pluhuv Bor in the western Czech Republic, which has received high loading of atmospheric acidity, and Sleepers River Research Watershed in Vermont, U.S.A., where acid loading has been considerably less. Despite differences in lithology, wetness, forest type, and glacial history, the catchments displayed similar patterns of solute concentrations and flow. At both catchments, base cation and alkalinity diluted with increasing flow, whereas nitrate and dissolved organic carbon increased with increasing flow. Sulfate diluted with increasing flow at Sleepers River, while at Pluhuv Bor the sulfate-flow relation shifted from positive to negative as atmospheric sulfur (S) loadings decreased and soil S pools were depleted during the 1990s. At high flow, alkalinity decreased to near 100 µeq L −1 at Pluhuv Bor compared to 400 µeq L −1 at Sleepers River. Despite the large amounts of S flushed from Pluhuv Bor soils, these alkalinity declines were caused solely by dilution, which was greater at Pluhuv Bor relative to Sleepers River due to greater contributions from shallow flow paths at high flow. Although the historical high S loading at Pluhuv Bor has caused soil acidification and possible forest damage, it has had little effect on the acid/base status of streamwater in this well-buffered catchment.

show abstract

Acidic Deposition in the Northeastern United States: Sources and Inputs, Ecosystem Effects, and Management Strategies

Cited by 941 publications

References 64 publications

Status of soil acidification in North America

Status of soil acidification in North America

Effect of power plant emission reductions on a nearby wilderness area: a case study in northwestern Colorado

A Biogeochemical Comparison of Two Well-Buffered Catchments with Contrasting Histories of Acid Deposition

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About